"Mom's" The Word For Chappell!

THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL delves into its first lesbian storyline this week when Crystal Chappell debuts on Thursday, May 17, as Karen Spencer's partner (and Caroline's other mom), Danielle. This marks the fourth gay character the actress has played in recent years, and she said it was without hesitation that she accepted the recurring role. "I said yes even before we got into any of the negotiation stuff," she notes.

As a celebrity ambassador for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, an organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, Chappell is proud to help B&B tell this story. "I appreciate that they are willing to represent the people out there who need to be represented," she says.

B&B executive producer and headwriter, Bradley Bell, told Chappell that he'd admired the work she'd done on the Emmy-winning webseries VENICE: THE SERIES, of which she is a creator, executive producer and star. "He told me he was very impressed with what we'd put together. Obviously, that meant a great deal to me, coming from him!" she says.

In addition to VENICE, Chappell is helming another web soap this summer called THE GROVE, and she'll begin taping a role in a third web series, THE TEAM, next month. So while she'll have limited time on her hands to keep Dani in the mix at B&B, the actress feels it's certainly doable. "At B&B you can go in and tape two or three shows in a day," she explains. "Even if [I can only get back for one day], you can absolutely get a lot done. So the role is really perfect for me."